Fall Vegetable Gardening

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

It’s Fall!  Okay, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I just can’t wait to get to my favorite season (and the weather these past two days has been such a tease).  But even though we’re still in the thick of the summer crop harvest, it’s not too early to start thinking about cool weather crops again.  If you want to get a jump on your fall garden, come to this fun workshop taught by Sally McCabe at the new South Philly garden store Urban Jungle!

When:  September 9th, 6pm
Where:  Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Ave. (at Tasker)
What:  Fall Vegetable Gardening - Join community gardening guru Sally McCabe of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to learn how you can grow vegetables in the cooler weather of fall.  Find out what kinds of vegetables can be grown, how to extend your harvest of vegetables into the winter, and how to do it all in a small space!  Cost includes instruction, wine, and snacks.  $20 per person.

Click here to register!

Bike Workshop in the Garden

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Mariposa Food Co-op Community Education Series has partnered with the Bicycle Ambassador Program of Greater Philadelphia to host a FREE workshop next week that will take place in the beautiful Woodlands Community Garden!  There are only a few spaces left, so act now to reserve your spot.  Here’s the info:

Have you ever actually cleaned your bicycle?  All participants are encouraged to bring their bicycles and learn how to clean all of the nooks and crannies.  A clean bike is a happy bike.  Workshop is limited to 10 participants with bicycles.  Questions? Comments? Contact Kara at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

What:  Bicycle Ambassador Workshop 3—Bicycle Cleaning 101
When:  Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 6PM-7PM
Where: The Woodlands Community Garden (please meet at Mariposa Co-op, 4726 Baltimore Ave., we will ride over to the garden together)

Support the Emerald Street Urban Farm at a Puppet Performance

Friday, August 13, 2010

Take a trip up to increasingly green Kensington to support the Green Street Urban Farm project at York and Dauphin. PuppetTyranny will perform JM Barrie’s magical story “Peter Pan in a Kensington Garden” (not Philadelphia’s Kensington, but a Kensington all the same) in the park across from the farm on 8pm on Friday August 13th and Saturday August 14th for a suggested donation of $5 - $10. Bring a kid, bring your dog, bring a local picnic and enjoy!

Philadelphia Weekly Press Release:

PuppeTyranny! brings its trademark sock and marionette whimsy to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan prelude, transposing the adventures of Peter from Edwardian London’s posh Kensington Gardens to Philly’s own urban Kensington. The troupe’s ragtag band of actors, musicians, puppeteers and Lost Boys patch together shadows, animation, live music and dance to bring to life the story’s various fantastical characters, including fairy queens and invisible flying goats. Peter is as strange a creature as any: Not yet the boy crocodile hunter of Disney fame, he’s a downy newborn, escaped from his crib and convinced he’s a bird. Baby Peter’s dreamy after-hours adventures in the park are enough to push the old nostalgia button—even if our own childhood idylls involved more tube slides than immortal birds. The show repeats on Saturday. -Lauren Smith

8pm. $5-$10. Emerald Street Urban Farm, 2312 Emerald St. 267.909.2633. puppetuprising.org

Learn to Can to August Tomatoes!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Does the thought of hot-water bath canning make you nervous? But you still want to preserve your harvest bounty (or the bounty of your local CSA or farmers market) for the winter? Sign-up for this quick workshop, learn what you need to know, and go home with your first jar of canned tomatoes!

Canning Workshop 2: Learn how to preserve your food
Saturday, September 11, 11am-1pm
The Restaurant School, 4100 Walnut Street (entrance on 41st Street)

Learn how to capture the flavor of late summer in this free introductory workshop on canning tomatoes. Join local food blogger Audra Wolfe (Doris and Jilly Cook) for an introduction to water-bath canning. Suitable for beginners as well as more experienced canners looking for a safety check-up, this class will cover the range of choices available for preserving tomatoes. All participants will leave with instructional hand-outs and the confidence to go forth and can. Jars of freshly preserved tomatoes will also be given away as door prizes. Space is limited and our first Canning Workshop sold out in less than 24 hours, so RSVP soon to reserve your spot! RSVP to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (215) 243-0555.

West Philly Garden Day

Monday, August 09, 2010

Come check out this great event in September.  I’ll be teaching a workshop on “Starting a New Community Garden” at The Woodlands Community Garden (pictured above) at 2pm, so come by and say Hi!

West Philly Garden Day

From Noon to 3:00PM on Sunday, September 19th, visitors will have a chance to learn more about the many beautiful ornamental and community gardens in University City on a self-guided tour of these often hidden gems.  Community gardens across University City will open their gates and welcome visitors to learn more about growing their own food in University City.  Along the way, visitors will be able to stop and admire the nominees for University City’s annual Inspirational Garden Awards.  Throughout the day, a series of workshops will offer opportunities to learn about starting your own community garden, bee keeping, planting fruit trees, and other gardening topics.  At 4:00PM, join us at the Woodlands Mansion for a presentation of the annual Inspirational Garden Awards to some of the most beautiful gardens in University City.  Contact Seth Budick at (215) 243-0555 for more details.

Can-A-Rama 2010!

Friday, July 23, 2010

This weekend marks the 2nd year of Canning Across America’s Canvolution, and this weekend is Can-A-Rama 2010! Head out to your garden or local farmers market, dust off your jars, and get canning. I know that it’s supposed to be a hot, hot weekend in Philadelphia, but why not invite a bunch of friends over to sweat with you (or convince a friend with air-conditioning to host), make some big pitchers of ice tea (or sangria) and can in big batches, together!

Awesome Ashley over at Design*Sponge (and author of Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English”), has some great canning party ideas for you HERE.

And don’t forget to let us know what you’re canning!

TODAY: Philadelphia Orchard Project Festival and Fundraiser

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Come on out to Liberties Land Park and celebrate the Philadelphia Orchard Project. Tacos, Cupcakes, Beer and great bands!

Biking to the Farm

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

What do you get when you combine the riders of the bicycle coalition

With energy of urban farming in Philadelphia

You help a few really great farmer’s buy one of these

The trailer was purchased from the proceeds of a ride sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition and Philadelphia Green’s City Harvest Program. The farms in the picture represent Our Front Yard Garden on Front and Fairmount and Emerald St. Garden in Kensington. The trailers will help them get their locally grown produce into the neighborhoods they serve in a more environmentally conscious and sustainable way.
If you’re looking for a great ride this weekend, check out the Bicycle Coalition’s Freedom Valley Ride on June 20th. Registrations starts at 6:30 AM at the beginning of Boathouse Row. The ride can be as easy as a loop on Kelly Drive to a trek to Valley Forge. The ride starts at 7:45 AM. Have fun.

Help Odwalla plant a tree in your state!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Odawalla, the natural juice and smoothie company, is planting trees all across the US this summer with their “Odwalla Plant A Tree” Campaign. Just click on the site below, select your state, and vote using either your email or Facebook accounts. It’s that simple! PA is currently in second place for number of trees planted. The sky’s the limit!

Monthly Green Drinks on Wed, June 2nd.

Green Drinks Philly meets the first Wednesday of every month at Standard Tap in Northern Liberties. Open to anyone who considers themselves any flavor of environmentalist (that’s you, local eaters!), Green Drinks is an opportunity to hang-out, drink, and network with like-minded Philadelphians. Not only is Standard Tap a beautiful building in a convenient location, they source ALL local beers! Hurray! Join this international green drinking movement. And if you don’t happen to live in our fair city, find a Green Drinks in your town HERE.

Standard Tap
6:00 - 9:00 PM
2nd & Poplar St.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Tel: 215 238 0630

http://www.standardtap.com
http://www.standardtap.com/map.htm

GRID “food issue” party at The Swift Half

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

GRID magazine’s Griddle blog was nice enough to link to my sprout post, and I’m returning the favor - to them and to you - by announcing the release party for the June “food issue.” A whopper of local-food-friendly information at 32-pages, this is GRID’s largest issue yet.  The issue promises “farmers’ markets, CSAs, cafes, artisan producers, neighborhood markets, breweries and restaurants. Also included: best buy local brunches and late-night snacks, as well as local cheese/local libations pairings from Marnie Old.” Hurray!

Come celebrate and pick up the new issue this Thursday from 5-7pm at the Swift Half Pub. Drinks are $1 off until 7pm, when local-beer favorite Flying Fish will be tapping a firkin of Summerhouse Ale.

GRID’s First Birthday Party

Friday, April 09, 2010

Farm to Philly loves Grid magazine, Philadelphia’s awesomely free monthly about sustainable city living. And I’m delighted that in the last year they’ve kept up their amazing stories (some by Farm to Philly folks!) and quality and have even increased in size! Come out to show your love for Grid this Saturday and enjoy a cold one at the brand new Yards Brewing Company tasting room, along with free local snacks from our friends at Mugshots, Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op and Birchrun Hills Farm. While you’re toasting a year of good work, you can pick up a new Grid T-shirt (printed on organic cotton by Kenny’s Imprintables) and the May issue, hot off the presses!

WHEN: Saturday, April 10, 5 - 8 p.m; no cover
WHERE: Yards Tasting Room, Yards Brewing Company, 901 North Delaware Ave.

Compost Matters!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Want to learn more about how composting can save the planet and increase your garden yield? Registerd for the “Compost Matters” one-day conference and learn about current and proposed local compost projects, how YOU can start composting (yes, even in the city) and hear from Will Allen - sustainable urban farming promoter who received a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2008 for his efforts. And hey, while you’re in the neighborhood, grab a drink or dinner at The White Dog and support a business that supports local farmers!
Register Here

Schedule
April 9, 2010

8:00 – 8:45     Registration

8:45 – 9:00     Welcome
                Nancy O’Donnell, PHS and Linda Knapp, ILSR

9:00 – 10:00   Keynote address; Growing Food and Community in the City
                Will Allen, Growing Power

10:00 – 10:15 Break

10:15 – 10:45 Food Composting Projects in Pennsylvania
                Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection

10:45 – 11:15 Wilmington Organic Recycling Center: the Region’s Largest Composting Facility
                Nelson Widell, Peninsula Compost Group

11:15 – 12:00 From Kitchen to Farm—A Composting Partnership
                Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres, and Marvin Dixon, Four Seasons Hotel

12:00 – 12:45 Lunch (provided on site)

12:45 – 1:15   On-Site Commercial Composting
                Maurice Sampson II, Niche Recycling, Inc.

1:15 – 1:45   The Journey to Sustainable Landscapes—Let’s go!
                Mark Highland, Organic Mechanics Potting Soil

1:45 – 2:00     Break

2:00 – 2:45     Compost Policy Panel Discussion, with audience questions
                Mike Giuranna, US Environmental Protection Agency/Region III
                Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection
                Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
                Moderator: Nora Goldstein, Editor, BioCycle magazine

2:45 – 3:00     Closing remarks
                Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia

4:00 – 5:00   Tour of Moravian Court
                University of Pennsylvania campus, 34th & Spruce streets

Support Mill Creek Farm with Free Local Beer and Food

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Come one, come all, and hurry - today is the last day to RSVP for the Yelp! Philly Homegrown Party. Check-out the architecture at CITYSPACE, enjoy a cocktail and a mini-makeover in the Beauty Parlor room, and if you have a little too much fun, Zipcar will take you home, for free! All donations from this event will benefit Mill Creek Farm. Who else will be there? Supper, National Mechanics, Franklin Mortgage, ROOT, Organic Spirits, Tierra Mia Organic Nail Spa, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, and more.

Yelp! “Philly Homegrown Party”
Saturday March 20th 8-10pm
CITYSPACE, 2200 Walnut St. Philadelphia
FREE
RSVP and information: Click Here

Free Movie Screening “Dirt”

Interested in learning more about how our farming and development practices are hurting the planet? And want to learn about to fix it? Attend this free movie screening followed by a Dirt Expo featuring hands-on learning projects led by Mill Creek Farm, Weavers Way Coop Farm Education Program, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.  And may I suggest dinner or drinks at local-food wonder Farmacia before hand?

“Dirt! The Movie”
Wednesday March 24th 7pm
WHYY Civic Space 150 N.6th St, Philadelphia. 
FREE screening
RSVP and information:Click Here or call 215-351-0511

ITVS Community Cinema premieres this new documentary. “Dirt!” explores how industrial farming, mining and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change.